[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15309-15310]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        ARMS SALES NOTIFICATION

  Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control 
Act requires that Congress receive prior notification of certain 
proposed arms sales as defined by that statute. Upon such notification, 
the Congress has 30 calendar days during which the sale may be 
reviewed. The provision stipulates that, in the Senate, the 
notification of proposed sales shall be sent to the chairman of the 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
  In keeping with the committee's intention to see that relevant 
information is available to the full Senate, I ask unanimous consent to 
have printed in the Record the notifications which have been received. 
If the cover letter references a classified annex, then such annex is 
available to all Senators in the office of the Foreign Relations 
Committee, room SD-423.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                  Defense Security


                                           Cooperation Agency,

                                                    Arlington, VA.
     Hon. Bob Corker,
     Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: Pursuant to the reporting requirements 
     of Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act, as 
     amended, we are forwarding herewith Transmittal No. 17-44, 
     concerning the Air Force's proposed Letter(s) of Offer and 
     Acceptance to the Commonwealth of Australia for defense 
     articles and services estimated to cost $815 million. After 
     this letter is delivered to your office, we plan to issue a 
     news release to notify the public of this proposed sale.
           Sincerely,
                                                Charles W. Hooper,
                                Lieutenant General, USA, Director.
       Enclosures.


                         Transmittal No. 17-44

     Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to 
         Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act, as 
         amended
       (i) Prospective Purchaser: Government of Australia.
       (ii) Total Estimated Value:
       Major Defense Equipment* $661 million.
       Other $154 million.
       Total $815 million.
       (iii) Description and Quantity or Quantities of Articles or 
     Services under Consideration for Purchase:
       Major Defense Equipment (MDE):
       Up to three thousand nine hundred (3,900) GBU-53/B Small 
     Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB II).
       Up to thirty (30) GBU-53/B Guided Test Vehicles (GTV).
       Up to sixty (60) GBU-53/B Captive Carry Reliability 
     Trainers (CCRT).
       Non-MDE: Also included in this sale are Weapon Load Crew 
     Trainers (WLCT), Practical Explosive Ordinance Disposal 
     Trainers (PEST), containers, support and ground crew test 
     equipment, site survey, transportation, warranties, repair 
     and return, maintenance, publications and technical 
     documentation, personnel training and training equipment, 
     U.S. Government and contractor representative engineering, 
     logistics, and technical support services, and other related 
     elements of logistics and program support.
       (iv) Military Department: Air Force (X7-D-YAH).
       (v) Prior Related Cases. if any: None.
       (vi) Sales Commission, Fee, etc., Paid, Offered, or Agreed 
     to be Paid: None.
       (vii) Sensitivity of Technology Contained in the Defense 
     Article or Defense Services Proposed to be Sold: See Attached 
     Annex.
       (viii) Date Report Delivered to Congress: September 29, 
     2017.
       *As defined in Section 47(6) of the Arms Export Control 
     Act.


                          POLICY JUSTIFICATION

     Australia--GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB II)

       The Government of Australia has requested a possible sale 
     of up to three thousand nine hundred (3,900) GBU-53/B Small 
     Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB II), up to thirty (30) GBU-
     53/B Guided Test Vehicles (GTV), up to sixty (60) GBU-53/B 
     Captive Carry Reliability Trainers (CCRT). Also included in 
     this sale are Weapon Load Crew Trainers (WLCT), Practical 
     Explosive Ordinance Disposal Trainers (PEST), containers, 
     support and ground crew test equipment, site survey, 
     transportation, warranties, repair and return, maintenance, 
     publications and technical documentation, personnel training 
     and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor 
     representative engineering, logistics, and technical support 
     services, and other related elements of logistics and program 
     support. The estimated total case value is $815 million.
       This sale will support the foreign policy and national 
     security of the United States by helping to improve the 
     security of a major non-NATO ally that continues to be an 
     important force for political stability and economic progress 
     in the Western Pacific. It is vital to the U.S. national 
     interest to assist our ally in developing and maintaining a 
     strong and ready self-defense capability.
       The proposed sale of SDB II supports and complements the 
     ongoing sale of the F-35A to the Royal Australian Air Force 
     (RAAF). This capability will strengthen combined operations, 
     particularly air to ground strike

[[Page 15310]]

     missions in all-weather conditions, and increase 
     interoperability between the United States and the RAAF. 
     Australia will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment 
     into its armed forces.
       The proposed sale will improve Australia's F-35 
     survivability and will enhance its capability to deter global 
     threats, strengthen its homeland defense and cooperate in 
     coalition defense initiatives.
       The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not 
     alter the basic military balance in the region.
       The principal contractor will be Raytheon Missile Systems, 
     Tucson, AZ. There are no known offset agreements proposed in 
     connection with this potential sale.
       Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the 
     assignment of any additional U.S. Government personnel or 
     contractor representatives to Australia.
       There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness 
     as a result of this proposed sale.


                         Transmittal No. 17-44

     Notice of Proposed Issuance of Letter of Offer Pursuant to 
         Section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act

                           Annex Item No. vii

       (vii) Sensitivity of Technology:
       1. The GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb Increment H (SDB II) is 
     a 250-lb class precision-guided air-to-ground munition used 
     to defeat moving or mobile targets through adverse weather 
     from standoff range. SDB II has deployable wings and fins and 
     uses Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System 
     (INS/GPS) guidance, network-enabled datalink, (Link-16 and 
     UHF) and a multi-mode seeker to autonomously search, acquire, 
     track, and defeat targets from a standoff range. SDB II 
     employs a multi-effects warhead for maximum lethality against 
     armored and soft targets. Sensitive areas include operating 
     manuals and maintenance technical orders containing 
     performance information, operating and test procedures, and 
     other information related to support operations and repair. 
     The GBU-53/B SDB II hardware, including guidance, multi-mode 
     seeker, and datalink, is UNCLASSIFIED. The software is 
     UNCLASSIFIED.
       a. SDB II Guided Test Vehicles (GTV) are telemetry test 
     vehicles used for land or sea range based testing of the SDB 
     II weapons system. The GTV have common flight characteristics 
     of an SDB H but with an inert warhead. In place of the multi-
     effects warhead is a Flight Termination, Tracking, and 
     Telemetry (FTTT) subassembly that mirrors the multi-effects 
     warhead's size and mass properties, but provides safety 
     flight termination, free flight tracking and telemetry, and 
     transmission of encrypted data from the vehicle to the 
     ground. The SDB II GTV can have either inert or live fuses. 
     All other flight control, guidance, data-link, and seeker 
     functions are representative of the SDB II. The hardware, 
     including guidance, multi-mode seeker, and datalink, is 
     UNCLASSIFIED. The software is UNCLASSIFIED.
       b. SDB II Captive Carry Reliability Test (CCRT) vehicles 
     are SDB II variants primarily used for captive flight 
     reliability testing. The CCRT has common characteristics of 
     an SDB II but with an inert warhead and fuze. The CCRT does 
     not have an FTTT subassembly in place of the warhead; it 
     instead uses ballast to mimic the warhead's mass properties. 
     The CCRT is a flight capable representative of the SDB II 
     and, although not its primary objective, could be dropped as 
     a test round on ranges not requiring telemetry, digital 
     tracking, or a Flight Termination System (FTS). All other 
     flight control, guidance, data-link, and seeker functions are 
     representative of the SDB II. The hardware, including 
     guidance, multi-mode seeker, and datalink, is UNCLASSIFIED. 
     The software is UNCLASSIFED.
       2. If a technologically advanced adversary obtains 
     knowledge of the specific hardware and software elements, the 
     information could be used to develop countermeasures or 
     equivalent systems that might reduce weapon system 
     effectiveness or be used in the development of a system with 
     similar or advanced capabilities.
       3. A determination has been made that the Commonwealth of 
     Australia can provide substantially the same degree of 
     protection for the sensitive technology being released as the 
     U.S. Government. This sale is necessary in furtherance of the 
     U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives outlined 
     in the Policy Justification.
       4. All defense articles and services listed in this 
     transmittal are authorized for release and export to the 
     Commonwealth of Australia.

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